What Iroh really wanted from this situation was to track down the rest of the gang and figure out what they were up to and then, being fully informed, use the minimum of force to stop them. He'd also like enough evidence to get them imprisoned for their crimes.
None of those goals would be served by rushing in to the parlor. But whatever was happening here seemed serious, and Iroh was not going to let anyone get hurt either.
He stopped in the hallway just outside the parlor to try to get a better idea of what the situation called for.
"Where are the paintings?" A man's voice, probably the shabby gentleman, since Iroh had found out from the cook that the two people who lived in this house were women, a grandmother and her granddaughter.
Peeking around the doorjam, Iroh saw that the grandmother, a large woman with big bones and pure white hair gathered in a neat bun, was facing off with the shabby gentleman, who held what looked like an expensive portable radio in one hand. They seemed fairly evenly matched, except perhaps for the radio.
"Shake all you want," the grandmother said. "The painting you asked about is off visiting friends, and there is no secret underground storage. I would know about it. You're barking up the wrong tree."
[Here's what I'm thinking:
The granddaughter is upstairs in a bedroom, and the other servant is out running errands. There is an underground machine making its way from the house next door toward this house, causing the shaking and collapse of the wall. There's a radio link allowing the two crooks to communicate (so far, mostly just allowing the shabby gentleman to prove that he's in charge by issuing orders, but it's two way).
The cook, who is an earthbender, is down in the cellar trying to stop it, or at least shore up the foundations of the house. (And there may be a forgotten underground storage chamber. Probably very deep under the house, deep enough that it's not immediately obvious to any earthbender that comes along.)
I'm thinking that the underground machine does something with storing bending, which is allowing the not very powerful earthbender known as "the delicate earthbender" to perform above his usual strength by storing up a lot of earthbending and then releasing it in one fell swoop. But really it just needs to be intimidating now and potentially useful in a bigger job further on, so if you have a better idea, feel free to go with it.
I'd prefer for at least one of the grandmother or granddaughter to be present and in shape to tell a little tale when this is over, other than that, do as you will with all of this, and feel free to add in whatever makes sense to you!]
no subject
None of those goals would be served by rushing in to the parlor. But whatever was happening here seemed serious, and Iroh was not going to let anyone get hurt either.
He stopped in the hallway just outside the parlor to try to get a better idea of what the situation called for.
"Where are the paintings?" A man's voice, probably the shabby gentleman, since Iroh had found out from the cook that the two people who lived in this house were women, a grandmother and her granddaughter.
Peeking around the doorjam, Iroh saw that the grandmother, a large woman with big bones and pure white hair gathered in a neat bun, was facing off with the shabby gentleman, who held what looked like an expensive portable radio in one hand. They seemed fairly evenly matched, except perhaps for the radio.
"Shake all you want," the grandmother said. "The painting you asked about is off visiting friends, and there is no secret underground storage. I would know about it. You're barking up the wrong tree."
[Here's what I'm thinking:
The granddaughter is upstairs in a bedroom, and the other servant is out running errands. There is an underground machine making its way from the house next door toward this house, causing the shaking and collapse of the wall. There's a radio link allowing the two crooks to communicate (so far, mostly just allowing the shabby gentleman to prove that he's in charge by issuing orders, but it's two way).
The cook, who is an earthbender, is down in the cellar trying to stop it, or at least shore up the foundations of the house. (And there may be a forgotten underground storage chamber. Probably very deep under the house, deep enough that it's not immediately obvious to any earthbender that comes along.)
I'm thinking that the underground machine does something with storing bending, which is allowing the not very powerful earthbender known as "the delicate earthbender" to perform above his usual strength by storing up a lot of earthbending and then releasing it in one fell swoop. But really it just needs to be intimidating now and potentially useful in a bigger job further on, so if you have a better idea, feel free to go with it.
I'd prefer for at least one of the grandmother or granddaughter to be present and in shape to tell a little tale when this is over, other than that, do as you will with all of this, and feel free to add in whatever makes sense to you!]